Daredevil
by ModestoJogaII
Summary: Blinded at a young age Naruto struggles with the cruelty of life and the constant struggle to be the better man.
1. Blind Man

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or anything from the marvel franchise.

**Summary**: Blinded at a young age Naruto struggles with the cruelty of life and the constant struggle to be the better man.

**Prologue**: The Blind Man, Where He Hails From

They say your whole life flashes before your eyes when you die.

And it's true, even for a blind man. I was born in Konohagakure no Sato.

The village is renowned for its shinobi; the greatest in all the land. Famous for unity in combat, respected for wisdom, and envied for its wealth. But despite its greatness this village is ignorant; the people of the village, there weak. They fear too quickly and judge too harshly; this simple fact has shaped my life and forged me into who I am.

My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and this is my story the story of a boy and the soul of a village. My life truly began when I meet a blind man …

_-Break_

Sarutobi Hiruzen the Third Hokage, The Professor, The God of Shinobi, and a man of many more titles couldn't feel anymore useless than he does now. He stands in the hospital room next to a bed and looks at the body that lays on it; a small blond child, his eyes covered by heavy white bandages. A nurse sat at the boys side examining his vitals and ensuring he was comfortable.

'_How?' _thought Sarutobi as he cleared his throat and looked behind him.

From the shadows of the room four masked men appeared from the shadows. Covered in light armor and mask the four are distinguished members of Konoha's ANBU shinobi.

"Tell me how this happened" demanded Sarutobi, "how does a boy get attacked in broad daylight without me knowing".

"We captured the perpetrators" said a wolf masked ANBU, "their time with Ibiki revealed they were given the window to attack by the Uchiha clan. No names were given and the leader swallowed poison; we can't go after them they covered their tracks".

'_They'll be a day when they can't hide from me' _thought Sarutobi as he turned to a nurse next to him.

"What's his condition he?"

"I'm afraid his eyes are permanently damaged and can't be healed" said the nurse sadly, "whatever was thrown into his eyes was a nasty cocktail of poisons and acids mixed with chakra and radioactive chemical isotopes".

"The ANBU retrieved a sample perhaps-"

"Hokage-sama" interrupted the nurse, "even with the sample there's nothing to be done. His tenant has altered him to heal faster from what the doctors and I can gather. His eyes healed with the chemicals still inside and over his eyes; he is blind, nothing we do now can help him".

"Anything else I should know".

"The chemicals only landed on his eyes, it burned the skin on his face but the burns have healed, the situation is bad but he's lucky the chemical didn't land anywhere else or that he swallowed it". The nurse stood up and exited the room as Sarutobi looked over at the boy.

"I want a guard on him at all times, doctors and nurses are only allowed in". The ANBU merely vanished as Sarutobi exited the hospital room.

_-Break_

Sarutobi marched through the hospital halls with purpose, Naruto had woken up hours ago and the doctors ran a variety of test. The ANBU reported him and came back with interesting news; something was different with the boy, whether this unforeseen development is good or not is what he intended to find out.

The ANBU opened the hospital room for Sarutobi to enter. Naruto sits on his bed as doctors move all about; Sarutobi noticed as no one made a sound, they were avoiding making any sound.

'_What's going on' _thought Sarutobi as he quietly approached Naruto.

"Hey old man" whispered Naruto.

Sarutobi examines the boys face, his eyes are a lifeless blue, the skin around his eyes is pale, and the whisker marks on his cheeks were faded.

"Naruto" said a nurse gently, "can you tell the Hokage what you told us".

"I-i-i can see you" said Naruto shakily, "when you move, when you talk, and when I make a sound".

The nurse, doctors, and Hokage exited the room quietly and closed the door; the ANBU all went through a set of hand seals as the Hokage exited.

"We've sound proof the room" said the head doctor, "we've called in all of our shinobi medics and a few specialist; Neurologist (Brain Specialist) and Optometrist (Eye Specialist), while this is odd and unprecedented young Naruto is fortunate. We've seen something like this before".

"What exactly is happening to him" asked a Sarutobi.

"Twelve years ago there was a man who suffered severe cranial trauma and was blinded by the trauma" said the doctor, "he claimed exactly what Naruto is now. The doctor that treated him is dead but we recovered his notes, their theories but it's the best we've got to on".

"Well don't keep me in suspense" said Sarutobi hastily.

"The original patient claimed he could sense the proximity and arrangement of objects around himself" said the doctor as he handed Sarutobi the notes, "According to the doctor's theory, the original patient had what he called 'radar sense'. This sense functions via his brain's generation of energy within a certain portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The signal emanates from sending regions of his brain, after which it travels outward, bounces off objects around him, and returns to receiving regions of his brain. His sense's function as sonar, the patient hears the faint echoes of sounds as they bounce off nearby objects. In any event, via this ability, the patient synthesizes a very close analogue of three-dimensional human sight".

"Who is this patient mentioned in the notes" demanded Sarutobi.

"The notes say they called him Konbou (Stick)" said the doctor hesitantly.

"Find him"

_-Break_

Naruto has been in this hospital room for two weeks. The doctors and shinobi have been nice; they know that sounds bother him but not as much anymore. The doctors told him all about how his brain had tried to compensate for the lost of his site. The nurses are nice and they even told him how the Hokage went to find him someone to teach him how to get used to his new sight.

'_Stupid brain' _though Naruto, _'if you're gonna act without me knowing why not give me something cool'._

The door opened and Naruto turned to the sound. Despite the newness of his 'sight' the young blond could make out what was happening. As if ripples flowed over water he made out the figures of the doctors and nurses, the Hokage was behind them with a man he couldn't recognize.

"Who's the new guy?" asked Naruto, "I can't make you out, you're all blurry".

"Naruto this is Konbou" said Sarutobi, "he's eyes are just like yours".

"So you've got a weird brain too" said Konbou as he approached Naruto.

Naruto carefully stepped off of the hospital bed and stood before the people in the room. Konbou made a motion which Naruto could 'see' and then the room exploded as something hit the floor. From the epicenter of the sound Naruto could clearly see everything. The world was clear and visible, there was no color but there was an image, he could see the people around him.

"Come with me Naruto-san" said Konbou with a smile, "let me help you see this world".

"Can you really?" asked the six year old boy.

"If you're as fearless I've heard we can do anything".

-End Chapter


	2. The First Step of A Journey

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or anything from the marvel franchise.

**Summary**: Blinded at a young age Naruto struggles with the cruelty of life and the constant struggle to be the better man.

**Chapter One**: The First Step of A Journey

'_Six years' _thought Naruto, _'Six years of learning how to do everything blind. Six years of training with Konbou, living with him and his family, living a nice peaceful life, and then bam stuck in this place'. _

Uzumaki Naruto stood in a classroom being looked upon by students in the Shinobi academy of Konoha. After he was blinded six years ago he left the village to train with Konbou. He lived just a few miles away from the village in a secluded little monastery were Konbou and his wife Soyokaze live in relative peace. Soyokaze was a shinobi of the village but left after she got married, they have a daughter Meiryou, and the three of them are the only family he's ever truly had.

A week ago he was returned to Konoha and told he was enrolled in the shinobi academy; thus his reason for standing in this room.

"Class" said Umino Iruka, "this is Uzumaki Naruto. He is recently returned to the village and I'm sure he hopes to make friends with all of you"

"Thank you Iruka-sensei" said Naruto.

Naruto pulled out a baton from behind him, with a flick of his wrist it extended into a cane.

"What the…"

"Is that…"

"Interesting…"

'_And here come the whispers' _thought Naruto as he tapped his walking cane once on the ground.

In his mind he say the room, twenty-six students in the room, one puppy hidden in someone's hoodie and someone with a swarm of bugs inside of them. The students all looked curiously at him, some already deduced he was blind, others didn't seem to care, and frankly neither did Naruto.

"What's this blind loser doing here" said a boy as Naruto passed him.

Some students stifled there laugh's and Naruto turned to face the boy, "Thought I heard something, guess it was just the wind".

Naruto moved calmly through the classroom and sat down next to a girl whose heart was racing a mile a minute.

"Are you alright?" asked Naruto.

"Yes Uzumaki-san" stuttered the girl.

"What's your name?" Naruto focused on her heart as it slowed and began to beat at a steady pace.

"Hyuga Hinata, it's a pleasure to meet you".

"You can call me Naruto, Hinata-chan".

Naruto smiled as her heart skipped a beat, _'I think being back here will be okay'_

_-__Break_

Nara Shikamaru sat outside in the academy training grounds to eat his lunch and watch the clouds go by; however, today was different; he sat by a tree on the far end were he could see everything around him. Shikamaru studied the new guy, he's a bit shorter then some of the other guys but Shikamaru knows he's not someone to be taken lightly. Dressed in black cargo pants, black shirt, and a black hoodie vest the boy's grim appearance was complete by his blue lifeless eyes.

'_New guys taken a liking to Hinata' _thought Shikamaru as he watched the two eat together.

"Shikamaru-san" said a quiet beside him.

"Shino what's up?"

"I assume you've noticed" said the boy as he sat down next to Shikamaru, "he's blind but there's something different. He moves with a certainty that most blind people don't have".

"He's no weakling if that's what you mean. Guys blind but if he was put here with us it's because he can do something".

"He is amicable and Hinata-sama seems happier around him". Shino's body begins to buzz and he turns to look at Naruto.

"In time Shino, in time we'll know what he can do"

_-Break_

The academy day has come to an end and Naruto walks out of the academy with Hinata at his side. The two get along well enough; she is kind and hasn't asked about his blindness. He isn't familiar with any of this; even before he was blinded other kids never bothered with him, and the only social experiences he's had are with adults and with Meiryou: who was a bady and now a small child.

"Naruto-kun" said Hinata, "I will see you tomorrow".

Naruto tapped his cane once and watched as Hinata ran off to meet a woman he couldn't make out.

'_Out of my range' _thought Naruto.

"You could come out now" said Naruto as he looked to his left.

"BOO" said a little girl as she dropped a cloth from in front of her.

"Meiryou-chan" said Naruto a he crouched to the girls eye level, "what are you doing here, you weren't a naughty girl and sneaked away from home".

"No mama said to sneak up on you with my _Kakuremino no Jutsu (Cloak of Invisibility Technique)_" said Meiryou.

Naruto snapped to attention, he twisted his cane and it retracted into a baton, but before he could react Naruto was grabbed from behind. A tall woman wrapped her arms around Naruto as a grappling hook wrapped Naruto's baton from his left.

"Damn boy" said a raspy voice, "away from us a week and you've already gone soft".

"To be fair husband of mine" said the woman sweetly as she dropped Naruto, "our Naruto-kun is growing up. She's a lovely girl my fearless boy, who is she?"

Naruto picked himself up and stood up shakily, this little tussle had disoriented his delicate yet highly effective senses.

"Her name is Hyuga Hinata" snapped Naruto as he outstretched his hand and he felt his cane be tossed to him.

"She's pretty aniki" said Meiryou as she grabbed Naruto's hand.

"What are the three of you doing here" said Naruto sadly, "I'm not your problem anymore". He extends his cane and makes out there profile.

Konbou is tall and well build, he is dressed in black robes, and has a black walking cane similar but larger than Naruto's. His face rugged and well defined, the only thing off about him is his sightless eyes, a pale brown that go well with his clean shaved face and slicked back brown hair. Soyokaze is a brown haired woman with a heart shaped face; her well endowed and well toned body hugged by the kimono she wears. Her face is the picture of beauty and serenity.

"You're our family" said Konbou as he approached Naruto, "Soyokaze and I raised you for six years after this placed nearly ended you; were not gonna let you just stay here alone".

"But the monastery-"

"Someone else's problem" interrupted Soyokaze, "now come on. Well eat out tonight and then we'll show you the little house we brought for us".

'_So god is good to those who suffer'_ thought Naruto as he fell in line with his family.

"Aniki come on we have to explore" said Meiryou as she ran off ahead of Naruto.

_-Time Skip (Two months later)_

Life for Naruto in the village for Naruto is pleasant. He lives in the merchant's block of the village where Soyokaze works as a vender for a shinobi apparel shop. Konbou became a shinobi; the blind man is no ANBU but his sight and created Taijutsu stile place him at a low chunin; however, the true reason the Hokage wants Konbou around is for his unique 'sight'. Being a living lie detector seems like something a Hokage might have good use for. Meiryou spends most of her day at Soyokaze side where she memorized clients with her cuteness.

On most days, Naruto pays attention to the lectures in the Academy. Lectures require his full attention, he can't see the board and he refuses to have some read and write for him; he needs to apply himself twice as hard to keep up with the academic requirements for his class.

Today, however, is not a lecture day. It's a practice day, Iruka-sensei lecture's on the importance of weapons, chakra control, and general things that any moron with common sense should remember; things Naruto already knows.

"Now, any questions before we hit the training grounds?" Iruka asked the class.

"Yeah does Naruto get to use his cane again" asked Inuzuka Kiba.

"You're just mad he can use his cane and you can't use Akamaru" said Shino.

"It wouldn't be fare for you to fight with Akamaru" said Hinata with a smile.

"Easy for you to say Hinata" said Shikamaru, "Naruto doesn't ruff you up every other day".

"Hey what is this gang up on Kiba" barked Kiba with a low growl.

"Alright settle down" said Iruka with a chuckle, "everyone to the training grounds".

'_These are my friends' _thought Naruto with a smile.

Over the course of the last two months Naruto had made a few friends. Kiba is his training pal; the two train with gusto and usually give Uchiha Sasuke a hard time. At Kiba's left sits Shino, he's Naruto's quiet and quirky friend, the two get along well enough. Hinata is, she's, she's the one person that makes Naruto go weak at the knees; for reasons he has yet to deduce or admit to. Shikamaru is a lazy but intelligent guy, Naruto and him usually end up playing shogi together.

The students get up and file out of the classroom, Naruto soon finds himself lined up with other students, the training yard is simple; three targets set up at the far end, three sparing circles in the middle, and a track surrounding the whole of the training grounds for the students to run laps. Iruka divided the students around the field and stepped off to the sidelines to observe his students.

'_In another month they'll be graduating' _thought Iruka as he watches his students, _'Sasuke will be rookie of the year but that doesn't make him the best'._

Iruka looked as Shino and Kiba spared as Naruto and Hinata cheered the two on, as Shikamaru commented on the two fighting.

'_Naruto is by far the best at Taijutsu but he holds back so I have no actual clue at what his true potential is' _thought Iruka as he watched Naruto lead Hinata to a sparing circle, _'Hinata is the __best kunoichi with her family's training. Shikamaru the most intelligent is class, and the only other's of note are Shino, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, and Chouji'_

"Iruka-Sensei?" said a tall white haired man.

"Yes Mizuki?" asked Iruka as he turned to his fellow instructor.

"I'm just curious…what do you think of that?" asked Mizuki as he pointed at Naruto entering a sparring circle with Sasuke "my moneys on Sasuke"

Iruka took the chance to look at all of the students, they all gathered to see this fight; Naruto and Sasuke don't have what you'd call a good relationship, it's more like Sasuke wants to beat Naruto down until he doesn't stand up.

Iruka watched carefully as the two boys circled each other; this is one of just many fights, Sasuke has only ever lost to Naruto. Sasuke only spars with Naruto and after four loses the last Uchiha has learned that a close range fight is something he can't win; everyone had learned early on that Naruto's cane isn't just a tool but a weapon he is well versed in using.

'_Narutos cane'_ thought Iruka, _'I've talked to his parents about it. It was created by __Konbou-san and his wife; they in turned made one for Naruto to use because of his blindness. It's a __multi-purpose cane that has many different modes. Its initial form is two short sticks held together by an extendable cable. It can be configured into a nunchaku-like weapon to a manrikigusari(a long rope/chain weapon with two weights on its ends), dual short sticks which can be wielded in a pair, staff, or a cable with a grappling hook. The weapon can also be adjusted to combine both sticks into a larger stick. If __Konbou-san had gotten proper training years ago he'd be up there with guys like Kakashi and Gai simply because of his determination and ingenuity'._

"Focus on the match Iruka" said Mizuki, "I can practically hear your brain working"

"Right" said Iruka as he focused on the pair.

Sasuke rushed at Naruto, the blond retracted his cane into a baton, Naruto pulled at each end of the baton. He waited for Sasuke, ready with two short sticks; Sasuke threw wild punches aiming to disorient Naruto. Naruto deflected most hits but Sasuke lands a solid punch on Naruto's side, the blond recovers and retaliates with a rapid succession on strikes to Sasuke's midsection. Sasuke jumps away from Naruto with a grunt; he's lucky that this a sparring match, and not a full fledge fight.

Naruto goes on the offensive; he reconnects his short sticks into a baton, and flicks the baton at Sasuke. Sasuke moves out of the way as the baton splits into; a short stick attached to a wire almost connects with Sasuke's head, before Sasuke can recover Naruto is on him. Naruto pulled back his stick and as it returns to him it whacks Sasuke in the back of the head; Sasuke stumbles forward, Naruto closes the gap and delivers a firm blow to Sasuke's jaw. Sasuke stumbles to the grown and lands on his back, he tries to role away but Naruto quickly forms his cane and stops Sasuke's retreat by jabbing his cane next to Sasuke's head.

"Yield Sasuke" said Naruto.

"I yield" said Sasuke through gritted teeth.

"Good match" said Iruka, "Everyone go to lunch early; you all did well today".

_-Break_

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiles to himself as he stared into his crystal ball. His crystal ball reflects an image of Naruto sitting at a Ramen stand, Ichirakus, with other students from his class in the academy. The Sandaime recognizes that most are heirs to very prominent clans. Sarutobi often checks up on Naruto in his crystal glass to make sure his return to the village is a pleasant one. Despite everything that has happened, it does Sarutobi good to know that Naruto's time away has gained him some happiness.

"Tell me everyone what do you think of this year's graduating class?" asked Sarutobi as he looked up from his crystal ball.

The Hokage's office is occupied by various shinobi. The most prominent and recognizable to Sarutobi at this moment are the potential genin squad leaders. The first is Hatake Kakashi a fair-skinned, fit and relatively tall shinobi with spiky white hair, and dark-colored eyes. He is dressed in a standard Jonin fashion, the only exception his face mask and head band that cover one eye.

'_Laziest man I've ever seen' _thought Sarutobi.

The next person is Yūhi Kurenai a fairly tall and light-skinned woman of a slender built. She has long, black, shoulder-length hair, and very unique eyes that are red in colour, with an additional ring in them

'_Why can't all of my kunoichi dress as tactfully as her' _thought Sarutobi as he turned to look upon another woman, Anko.

Mitarashi Anko screams look at me. She has light brown, pupil-less eyes, and black hair which has a blue tint to it, styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. She wears a tan overcoat and she struts around with a fitted mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs. She wears a dark orange mini-skirt (Because I ordered her to thinks Sarutobi), a forehead protector, and shin guards.

'_All I ask is that she wears a bra'_ thought Sarutobi.

Finally there is Sarutobi Asuma a tall man, with brown eyes, short, black spiky hair, and beard. His clothing consist of the standard Konoha shinobi uniform with the sleeves rolled up half way, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and a forehead protector.

'_He's achieved so much' _thought Sarutobi proudly.

"Yeah, are you sure that kids blind?" asked Anko.

"He is" said Sarutobi, "Naruto is a special case, and that's all I can say. His abilities are his own to reveal".

"His weapon is ingenious" said Asuma, "and his taijutsu its … I don't think even Gai can replicate or ever truly learn to fight like him. He's learned to fight blind; kids in a league of his with that determination".

"I have my eye on the Uchiha" said Kakashi, "He's rough around the edges but he has raw talent".

"The Hyuga heiress" said Kurenai, "She has improved by leaps and bounds lately. She and the Inuzaka heir would be perfect on a tracking team; the Aburame heir may also be a good team but I'd need to gather more information on him".

"It seems like there may not be an Ino–Shika–Chō Trio this generation" said Asuma, "The heirs of that clan are acquaintances but there's no tight bond between them".

"I can assume that you've all seen potential in this year's class" said Sarutobi, "Continue to observe and learn about all of them. You may find yourselves teaching teams you least expect".

**End Chapter**


End file.
